I really enjoyed this short film, "validation". I thought that it was very unique, clever, and made the viewer fell happy afterwords. I liked how he was always so positive throughout the movie and had a good reason for what he was doing. I thought the needing was very cute too and came together nicely. i thought the main idea of the film was very interesting and the fact that they put in a person who would not smile at all but then later would which made him upset then even more happier was a good idea. Afterwards this short film left me feeling happy and excited for some reason and i would suggest it to anyone who likes feeling that way!
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eteacher-744154 March 2016I have read nearly all what the former reviewers said. I agree with much of it. What can I add?
First, I'd like to say that there is a lot of symbolism in this movie. The producer meant every thing he did in it. Nothing is done randomly. For example the choice of black and white (no colours) states clearly that our lives can shift within these two colours Black (sadness) and white (smile-happiness). They have to exist together. they fight each other. We are the ones to choose which side to take. This is the old philosophical debate of good and evil.
Second, I think that the movie tells us that what ever our social class, our financial situation or where ever we are we can either influence others positively or negatively. We have seen the cheerful park attendant turn many sad people into happy one, from simple citizens to countries'presidents and also the opposite: we have seen the same person turn the same people from happiness to sadness because that is what he was living at that moment.H just communicated it. So Every one counts in this world.
Thirdly, He made happy many people but he didn't succeed to make the photographer smile. What ever he did. However, she smiled at him at the end and he didn't even know how she did it. This episode teaches us no to give up but continue our fight because thing change in a way or in an other.
To conclude, as I am a teacher of English language, I will try to use this video in classroom, and I hope it will bring a lot of my student to this web site and post their reviews. -
atlasmb30 July 2017"Validation" is a 16-minute short, but it packs a lot of story in those minutes. The protagonist appears to be a selfless guy, someone who exists only to provide happiness to others. But when he is unable to make a person happy, he loses his focus. Since this film is really about karma, his past deeds catch up with him and change his life. What follows is a fairytale ending, but "Validation" connects with so many people that it must have a ring of truth to many who view it.
The production values are good, and the editing is excellent. The soundtrack is integrated well into the story.
Can this film change lives? Perhaps. And that is really saying something. -
I had the pleasure of seeing this gem at the Phoenix Film Festival and I have to say that there are probably less then 1% of all short films made have the ability to make the audience well up with tears of happiness. That is precisely what this film did to me. Not only that. Whenever I tell someone about it I get the sense of welling up again just from re-telling it to them.
T.J. Thyne is perfectly cast as Hugh Newman, the uber-naive parking booth guy who works at the end of a darkly lit hallway and validates customers parking tickets while validating their lives at the same time. Just like any protagonist in a movie, he hits his roadblock and loses his mojo for a while but soon finds himself again, after he finds life taking him in another direction and gets back on the trail of making people's lives better. He finds out in the end that the good deeds had been doing for people in the past, that he thought were not changing anything or anybody, actually changed the lives of even the most hardened hearts and in turn find him the complete happiness that he had been searching for the whole time.
Kurt Kuenne did an AMAZING job with this film, period. From the finger-snappy acapella soundtrack to the directing, editing and cinematography; all of it is perfectly fit into this beautiful story. I only wish I could buy this movie on DVD. I've told so many people about it and wish I could show them! Hopefully soon! -
petyank4 January 2009I've lost count of how many times I've been grateful for YouTube. Today a friend sent me the link to this short and within seconds I knew it was special.
Validation is truly a gem.
There are so many superlatives I could use about Kurt Kuenne's short. The acting, direction, writing, etc., are all superb. But what really stands out is the movie's heart and simplicity. The story (a parable, really) is subtle, uplifting, inspirational--it even surprised me. And after 50+ years of movie watching, I don't surprise easily. This is not your typical Hollywood movie. It has a French feel to it; in fact, it reminded me a bit of Amelie. It is uniquely American, though. I can't wait to see more of Kuenne's work.
It's rare that I get a link I can forward to everyone on my email list. You'll see what I mean. Don't miss this one--and pass it along!
(It's an hour since I saw it and I'm still smiling!) -
Drewster588 January 2009I can't add to the two superb previous comments about this short film.
I just watched it again, and yes, tears spilled from my eyes, tears of complete overwhelming appreciation for this moral fable, this poem to the positive in people, and to love.
I teach preschool age children with severe special needs, and seeing this the first time had me by the heart, weeping profound tears of gratitude. It helped me realize that a large part of what I do, and have always loved to do for my kids and their family's is to simply appreciate the greatness it takes to go through their lives, made difficult from having unexpected horrors happen to their little children. To put that into words sincerely spoken is very touching and does indeed change people for the best.
I just forwarded the Flixxy link to another very large group of friends who also work in special education.
Every superlative applies to the wonderful magic of this film. -
Oblivious9323 April 2009Movies today seem to have difficulty making something happy. No matter how hard they try, it almost always comes off as being fake. This is where Validation comes in. A short film directed by Kurt Kuenne that oozes joy. And not the fake kind. By the end of this 17 minute film I was beaming. I was so happy that I immediately watched it a second time just to make sure I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't. Then I began showing it to every single person I could, and each one of them was smiling at the end. In fact, I have yet to see one single person who did not care for this movie, or did not feel great at the end of it.
The plot it simple, a man gives out free validation. Yes, the car kind. But he also throws in a bit of the other validation, and brightens the day of everyone he meets. Except as he is going out to get his drivers license renewed, he sees a girl and instantly falls in love. The only problem? She doesn't smile. I won't delve any deeper into the plot, but rest assured, it ends well.
The movie is filmed in black and white for no other reason than that it looks good. And after seeing the whole thing, you really couldn't imagine it in color. The music, to put it simply, is genius. An upbeat Gospel tune rings out throughout almost the entire movie, and every time I hear it I want to dance. The actors of course do a great job, overacted yes, but it's clearly on purpose.
Validation is a movie I believe everyone should see. It's funny, charming, and at the end of it all, a piece of joy. Look it up and watch it. I can guarantee you'll be glad you did. -
lvlv5221 September 2012I know. It's MY LIFE that's real, not movies. Movies are just a shadow on the wall, and you can hit STOP any time you feel like it. But I'd somehow managed to befriend Kurt Kuenne after being wowed by his "Shuffle," and had to see the rest of his resume. Unfortunately (for ME, since I've been an emotional wreck for decades), next up was "Dear Zachary," BRILLIANT but WAY too disturbing for the likes of moi. That was a month ago, and I haven't slept right since. Kurt actually apologized. But HERE was the best of all possible apologies..."Validation" was, simply, the most life-affirming 16 minutes of celluloid I've ever encountered (and please believe me - the celluloid I've encountered could reach to Pluto from here). I won't relate its story - a 2-line synopsis can't do it justice - but I do feel the need to convey that this is 16 minutes with the power to HEAL. And you'll laugh while healing. And I think maybe my poor battered subconscious can be talked into letting go of that psychotic witch from 'Zachary' that had sunk her claws in DEEP. Thank you, Kurt. This slate is CLEAN.
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J. Spurlin8 September 2009A cheerful parking attendant considers it his job to do more than validate parking. He wants to validate the customers themselves, delivering compliments about their appearances and the inner qualities behind them. Everyone who comes up to him with a ticket walks away validated as a worthwhile human being. Soon, the parking attendant becomes so popular that people line up for validation. He appears on news broadcasts and even ends up validating George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein. His life hits a roadblock when he goes to the DMV to get his driver's license photo taken and is met with a beautiful photographer whom he can't get to smile.
As with "Rent-a-Person" (2004), writer-director Kurt Kuenne takes a thin joke and blows it up into a splashy (if low budget) black-and-white musical extravaganza. In fact, the man with the camera who makes a brief appearance in the earlier film, returns as the main character in this one, which we don't realize until we see the scene in which the two movies intersect.
This one is less extravagant, but I liked it a bit better - possibly because the toilet humor is gone. -
This was an adorable story of a man validating parking tickets while brightening ordinary people's days. The reason? He just likes to make people smile. While at first this film is delightfully predictable, with all the expected puns, jokes, and sweet moments of joy, there emerges a creativity that I could not help but admire. This short film had loads of potential to end beautifully and leave viewers smiling with contentment. But it didn't fulfill what I had hoped. Instead of ending where I believe it should have (the man achieves fame and becomes loved by all, and there is world peace and unconditional love among all), the film takes a downward spiral by giving the main character a love interest. Still, though, I forgave this unseemly need for romance, as it still contained the chance to be cute, and it still fit with the rest of the film. However, unfortunately the film goes rapidly downhill as it turns away from the original plot line, and the main character becomes depressed, only to quickly wrap things up with a hasty and undeveloped happy ending (it was her mom?! Now where in the world did that come from??) It saddened me that such a wonderful little film was slightly marred by such a quick wrap-up, seeing as with a little more time and thought, the ending could have fit in perfectly with the rest of the film.
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Horst_In_Translation12 September 2013This goofy little short-film directed by Kurt Kuenne starring T.J. Thyne from Bones teaches ourselves should not miss any occasion for a nice warm smile and always inspire others around us to keep smiling. While it initially starts as a feel-good movie about a parking attendant who gives his very individual kind of validation to his customers, it ends up turning into a cute little, initially tragic, love story. The one person he wants turns out as the only one whose lips he seems incapable of putting a smile on.
The fact that it was in black and white added a lot to the charm for me. I'd recommend this short film to everybody who wants to end his day on a high note after a stressful day at work. It will make you smile :) -
Theo Robertson15 July 2010This short film revolves around parking attendant Hugh Newman who not only gives people tickets but compliments that changes their whole outlook on life . Within a short period of time Hugh has become something of a celebrity but finds his life unfulfilled when he meets a photographer who is incapable of smiling . What can he do to make her smile just once ?
On paper there might have been great potential turning this short in to a feature length movie but the more I thought about it the more I started to realise quirky shorts probably don't make good features . One the problems might have been the character Hugh himself and the way he's played by TJ Thyne .Try and imagine a young Gene Wilder on ecstasy and you have some idea of how irritating an initially happy clappy character can quickly become
This probably sums up VALIDATION - it's length compliments its quirky nature and feel good factor . It's well shot by director Kurt Kuenne and is a feel good fable that comes to a stop just around about the time when cynical embittered nihilists feel their patience might just end -
Kirpianuscus4 April 2018A simple film who could be defined as motivational. in fact, it is more. a pledge for small gestures. delicate /brave words. about the change using simple tools. about honesty. and about the importance of the other. nothing complicated. but usefull. for the message. for the tears of the end. for the basic lesson about ordinary things - briks of every day reality. a nice film. and that is all.